McGuireWoods partner Jacquelyn E. Stone won the Phoebe P. Hall Mentorship Award presented by the Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association (MRWBA). Stone and co-winner Carole Yeatts, director of career development at the University of Richmond School of Law, received the award at the MRWBA’s virtual awards ceremony on March 23, 2021.
MRWBA established the award in 2019 in memory of founding member Phoebe P. Hall to honor outstanding mentors. The MRWBA’s Awards Committee recommends possible honorees, and the MRWBA’s board of directors selects the winners.
Based in Richmond, Virginia, Stone has had a tremendous influence within McGuireWoods and throughout the entire legal profession through her many mentorships. During her legal career, she has held major roles in organizations dedicated to helping young people succeed professionally, including Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization, which creates opportunities for minority and other underrepresented groups of students to pursue legal careers; and Partnership for the Future, a college preparation and workforce development program for Richmond-area high school students. Many of those she has mentored have become leaders in top law firms, academia and corporate America.
“I am honored to receive this prestigious award from the Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association,” said Stone. “It’s important for me to be a mentor, to share my experiences and help others on their path to personal and professional success.”
Stone graduated from Harvard Law School and joined McGuireWoods in 1985, later becoming the first African-American woman to be named a partner at a major Virginia law firm. She also is the first African American to serve on McGuireWoods’ Board of Partners. She created the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee in 2006 and served as its chair until 2017. A member of the firm’s corporate securities department, she concentrates on legislative matters before the Virginia General Assembly and represents corporate clients in immigration and worksite enforcement matters.
“We are pleased that Jackie has been recognized for her steadfast commitment to nurturing and inspiring the next generation of leaders,” said George Keith Martin, managing partner of the firm’s Richmond office. “By sharing her invaluable knowledge and experience, she has left an indelible mark on the lives of so many students and lawyers.”
Earlier this year, Stone won the award for Best Mentor: Law Firm in The American Lawyer Industry Awards, an annual program honoring exemplary advisers and innovators in the legal profession. She was also honored among Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Women of Law and received the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities’ Richmond Humanitarian Award for 2020. The Richmond Times-Dispatch selected her for its 2019 “Person of the Year” program. In 2018, Stone received the prestigious National Women in Law Award for Lifetime Achievement from Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel, both leading American Lawyer Media publications. The MRWBA honored her with its Women of Achievement Award in 2005.